Perscription scuba mask

[amalthia]

Has anyone on my flist bought a scuba mask recently that required prescription lens? If so any advice? Has anyone had experience with the pre-made lenses that they insert into the frame? 10 years ago they were gluing the lens on the inside of the mask and I don't remember having any troubles seeing out of the mask.

I can't seem to find any good reviews on the pros and cons of either method. The scuba diving shop also said they can't correct for astigmatism.

Every year I'm tempted to get the lasik surgery. It would save time and money in the long run.

Comments

[par_avion]

Someone on my flist was posting abt this, maybe niqaeli?

[endeni]

What about about wearing contact lenses under the mask? Is that a feasible option? (Seems to me it would surely be a less pricey one...)

LOL, I have a strong myopia myself and I can definitely understand the temptation of lasik...

[rheasilvia]

I have no advice about the scuba mask, but as someone who's also been playing with the thought of lasik surgery... someone on my LJ friendslist is having an awful time right now because of a progressive eye disease called keratoconus, which is evidently a consequence of her lasik surgery. Her cornea is deforming more and more, and may already be too thin for even the semi-experimental treatment cross-linking (which isn't actually a cure either but would just stop the degeneration) to work.

It's rather changed my outlook on lasik, so I thought I'd share. It appears to be a fairly rare problem, but even so.

[waketosleep]

Speaking as someone who worked in optical...

I've never sold Rx scuba goggles but I have sold Rx safety glasses and sports goggles. The problem with the insertable lenses and astigmatism tends to be that the mini-frame that holds the lenses pops into place in the actual mask, and it will frequently do this by bending in the bridge. Those lenses can't be done as aspheric (ie. with astigmatism correction) because you'll fuck up the axis as soon as you bend the frame to fit the lenses in the mask/goggles/whatever; it changes the axis of the lens on you and then you can't see clearly and maybe get headaches. So if you're getting the kind that snap into a mask, you'll need a snap-in frame that is rigid.

Alternatively, if your Rx for astigmatism is mild (like under +/-2.00 cyl), get your optometrist to write you a new Rx for a spheric lens, specifically for your scuba mask. Then you can fill that. Most optometrists shouldn't really have a problem doing that for the reason you want it; it doesn't make sense that they would.

Hopefully that helped some?